Rocking lever and pedal arrangement for combination-pianos.



J. T. MAYER. BOOKING LEVER AND PEDAL AEBANGEMENT FOB COMBINATION PIANOs'.

V APPLIOATIOK FILED JULY 26, 1910.

999,822. lmmm-,ed Aug. s, 1911.

i li 37- lo flo UNITED STATES JULIAN T. MAYER 0F' NEW YJli,v NY., ASSIGNGR T0 PATENT '.OFFICE.

J. e c. rxscHEB, or NEW YORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION @F NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

Application tiled Jiily 26, 1910. Serial No. 573,907.

To all fwm/n it may concern:

lie it known that I` JULIAN T. Maven, a citizen ol' the United States, residing at New York. in the eounty of New York and Stale of New York. have invented a .new and useful lha-king Lever and Pedal .\rrangement for(lou'ihinution-Pianos,of whieh the followiugil is a speeiieation.

This invention relates to a combination piano eapahle ol' heilig played lmth automatieallv and manually.

rThe princi-pal ohjeets of the invention are to provide means, that wili noti ehange the appenranre oi' the instrument when operated upon manually. for holding the expression mauipulatorv lever# and derives: and vfor roueeali-ng the aannwhen the instrument is to he played manually: to provide simple and convenient emmeetious therewith for 'operating the pedal siuiultaneoualy with the motion oi' th(` to provide for doing! away with the foldingr key rslip. whirl hides the lnanilmlatorlv leY vere and the (leviers and also any'key szli'p whieh is eut through. and an)l pint h v whirh the manipulatory levera and deviens are e.\' posed to view.

The invention also involves improvenuuts in details ot' eonstruet'ion and r-oinhinatious ot' partsas will appear hereinafter.

'Refi-renee is to he had to the am'olupan)yiure" drawings in whirh i Figure l is; a ,plan of the top of the key hottom of a eomhination player piano allowing' the keys and key slip removed and lhowin;y the partel below eordauee with this invention. Fig. 2 is a seotional view ou the, line 2--2 ot Fig. l sligiiu'ilngr the moving eonueetions iu elevation. .FigQS is a Seetional view on the line 3---3 of Fig. l. ou the line- 4---4 of Fig. l., and Fig. is a Heetional view on the line :3W-5 ot ltigr. l showing' parts in dotted lines in a ditlereut posit ion.

,The invention is shown as applied to an il'lstrument having a key bottom lt) lor supporting thel key Slipand keys (not shown). 0n the under side of this are blocks or the liked] on which are pivoted roeker arma 12 for supporting amil 13. this rail heinev fixed rigidly to these rocker arma. The rail is provided vwith a. number of expression mampulatory devices, as for example, in

expression devirea: and

in dotted lines, iu ne Fig'. 4 in a -seetioual view the form of the Vlevers: 14, 15, 16 and 17, and push buttons 18 and 19. These devices .may be of any desired kind or type. Whatever their form, they are Supported by .the rlil 13 in such a way that. they cau he readiy manipulated, and ean he carried out' of sight hy the motion of the rail. lu the present case the four levers are shown as bein;Ir mounted on rods 20. Each of these rods has a hinge 21 and a rear section 22 eonueetilal therewith, the rear seetiou heinef provided with an elbow or projectingr arm 23 by whieh they are eonneeted with the usual deviees in the instrument. The several hinges 21 are in axial alinement with the pivots on which the rocker arms 12 are pi voted, therefore when the rail 13 siringal down ou itspivots the rods eonneetmi with the several leverk4 will hreak at the hinges and swir fr also about the Same. axis without. otherwise ehauginer the relative positions of the parts or straining' the joints. The push hnttons are shown as earh resting' on a lever 25 whieli is hinged on a hraeket .26 supported h v a hloek tlresting ou n plate 51 seeured to the rail. 'lhe lever is provided with a springt 27 for holding the ,front end and the push hutton up. The rear end of this lever 25 projeetql under a Similar lever 2H pivoted ou a` hraeket 2t) tixed under the key hot'tom aud having a spring 5l() for holding` its front end'down. 'lhe rear end of the lever 2S operates a valve 3| for admit'.- tingf air to a ronduit 32 whieh leads to any deaired parl' of' the instrument for eoutrolling the same. The operation ot these parts is very simple. 'heu the parts are at rest. the valve 3l is closed hy the aetion of the spring' 29. Vixen the hutton is pressed down, the rear end ot'the lever 25 is lifted whieh depressies the valve Ell and' le air into the conduit 'lhe hraeket 26 heine' tixed to the rail 13 and the hraeket 29 to the ke \v hottonl, hlaeket 2G and lever 25 will swiug down with the rail away from the lever 2S and leave that in its normal position with the valve closed.

I have shown a lateh 35lor holdingir the rail up. 'Ihe rail is also provided with au arm Sti projeeti'ngln rearwardly therefrom and pivot-ally connected, at a point het-Ween the line of pivots above mentioned and the rail, to a rod 37 which extends buck into the case.

itwill he Seen that the.

Cri

This rod is pivoted to a bell-crank 38 supported by a bracket 30. vThe bell crank 1n turn is connected by a rod 4t) with a bellcrank. 41 pivoted on a bracket 42 near the bottom ot' the case. lhe other arni ol this bell-crank is connected bv a lilik 43 with a bracket 44 connected with the pedals 45. The pedals are provided with side brackets 46 having goose llocks 4T which extend down into the case and are pivoted inside thebottoni rail i8. It `will be seen from this construction that the operation ot' turning the rail 13 down from the position shown in full lines in Fig, l to the position in which it is `foldedback, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. will operate the several links, levers and bell-cranks to liftthe pedals and bring them into closed position in thecasc, as also is shown in dotted lilies in Fig. 2. lVlien the l parts are in this position, the railand con nected parts ai'c folded back in horizontal position directly under the rear of the bot toni, and they can be held by a latch 4S) engaging the bottoni of the rail 13. leaves the ilistrnincnt. inv a conditionin which the presence of the controlling levers and the like would never be suspected from the front, and do not interfere with the opera tion Vof the ordinary pedals and the like. In this wa the lowering oi' the pedals is acl compls ned in a very simple manner without reaching down oi' even operating any lever or handle except the front rail. r1`his greatly simplifies the manipulation ofthe device and. leaves the automatic Iplaying device thoroughly concealed when the instrument is to be played manually.

'hile I have illustrated and described a preferred einbodimentof the invention, I am aware that many niodiiications can'be made therein by any person skilled in the art witiiout depart-ing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction or their exact arrangement herein shoi 'ii anddescribed, but

What .I 'lo claim is 1. Vln aninstrnnient of'the class described, the combination with the case and key bottom, of a 'front rail constructed .to swing about pivots, a push button on said rail, a lever su pporled ash button, a second lever supported by iicy bottom in position to be operated by the thc .the tix-st lever and projecting under it, and a This y the rail and operated by valve connected with and operated by the second lever.

2. in an instrument of the class described, the combination with the case and key bot tom, of a front rail adapted to swing about I pivots .located under the key bottoni, expresi sion manipuiatory levers cai'ried by said rail, rods imder the key bottom to which said levers are connected, each of said rods having a hinge in axial alinenient with said pivots, a push button on said rail, a lever supported by the iail` and operated b the push button, a second lever supported the key bottom in position to be operated y the first lever, and a valve connected with and operated by the second lever.

3. in an instrimient of the class described,` the combination with thevcase and key bottoni, of a front rail adapted to swing about pivots located under the key bottom, expression nianipulatory levers carried by said rail, a push button on said rail, a lever supported by the rail and operated by the push button, a second lever supported bv the key bottom in position to be operated by the first lever, and a valve connected with and operated by the second lever.

it. ln an instrument of the class desribed, lthe combination with the kc bottoin of a movable front rail, a push utton on Said rail. a spring pressed-lever on said rail normally, holding said button up, a spring pressed lever on the key bottom'in engagement withithe first named lever when the rail is in operative position, a valve normaliy heid closed by the second lever, and means whereby the rail -can be moved back under the key bottoni and the lever thereon carried away from the second lever.

5. In an instrument of the class described, the combination with -tlie case and key bottoni, ot' a front rail guided to move under l the key bottoni, a piish button on said rail, a

leversupported by the rail and operated by itlie push4 button, a secoiidlevcr supported j by the key bottom in position to be operated l by the first lever, and a valve connected with and operated by the-second lever.

'In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of wo subscribing l witnesses.

JULIAN T. MAYER. l Witnesses:

E. J. PRINGLE, B,-H. Po'rreli. 

